Karen Finnerty didn’t know much about her late father’s time in World War II. And since his passing, Finnerty has searched for more ways to connect with her dad and his military service.
She never thought she would find a key part of who he was as a soldier, and in one of life’s most pleasant surprises.
Finnerty, who resides in Watkinsville, Georgia, was reunited with a dog tag her dad, James Underwood, wore as a member of Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army. The shocking discovery, 80 years after the war ended, came all the way from England.
Underwood served in the 267th Field Artillery Battalion. After the Army, Underwood moved to Tifton, Georgia, residing in the small town for more than six decades. The World War II veteran was well-known to Tiftons, running a flooring business, Underwood Carpet, Tile, and Flooring. He ran the small business for years before selling it in 1980.
Like many from “The Greatest Generation,” Underwood was instilled with a sense of civic duty. Following his service time, he joined the local American Legion in Tifton, serving as a board member for 56 years. With his wife, Edna, the couple had four children.
In the woods of England
Karl Cranham probably didn’t expect to make such a find on a typical hike through the woods.
Hiking along the Savernake Forest, in Marlborough, England, about 77 miles west of London, he spotted a piece of bronze metal stuck in mud. He was looking for some old bottles, not World War-II era dog tags.
Realizing it was a piece of identification of an American soldier, Cranham phoned the Barnesville Herald Gazette in Georgia. Barnesville was the town listed on the dog tag.
Intrigued by the out-of-the-blue call, Walter Geiger from the Herald Gazette called Finnerty in August to tell her about the mysterious dog tag. Geiger had teamed with a town historian to find one of the veteran’s next of kin and they found Finnerty.
The newspaper connected Finnerty with Cranham, and they got to know each other over phone conversations. Cranham mailed the dog tag to Finnerty, and it unlocked a door to her father’s military past.
Discovering his Military Life
Underwood seldom spoke of his time fighting in the European theater, not even to close family members. But retrieving the dog tag sparked curiosity for Finnerty to learn more. She did some research and was able to piece together most of his wartime experience.
After completing his paratrooper training, Underwood transferred to the 267th Battalion following a shoulder injury. His battalion spent a month penetrating deep into the English countryside. Finnerty also learned that his father’s unit was sent to Normandy, France, to help strengthen Patton’s army. The battalion then moved further into France and was reassigned, serving for the 3rd Army’s Provost Marshall.
Underwood spent time as a bridge guard, helped liberate towns in France under Nazi control, and rescued soldiers suffering in POW camps, just after fighting in Europe had ended.
For Finnerty, receiving her dad’s dog tag was a revelation. It has provided a connection to an important part of his past that she never knew about. The lost relic also provided a key to who her father was as a young man, forging through the woods of England, hoping to help end the war and return home.
“I feel like we’ve been reconnected to that part of my dad’s life. It’s a treasure,” Finnerty said. “It’s just miraculous that this dog tag was there for 82 years.”
Finnerty plans to share the dog tag with her other siblings, Larry Roberts and Cindy Underwood-Fuller. In the future, Finnerty wants to include the dog tag with her father’s reissued service medals. It’s an opportunity to honor his service, while preserving his memory.
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